Spiral tube winding machine

ABSTRACT

A spiral tube winding machine is disclosed having an improved heavy duty drive for the drum cylinders which through a belt winds a spiral tube onto a mandrel. The positions of the drum cylinders are adjustable to accommodate different sizes of mandrels and tubes and the driving mechanism accommodates itself to such adjustment without the necessity for removing and replacing gears in the driving mechanism.

United States Patent 1 [111 3,793,929

Snyderman 1 Feb. 26, 1974 [54] SPIRAL TUBE WINDING MACHINE 523,754 4/1931 Germany u. 74/242.1l A [75] Inventor: Joseph Snydeman Philadelphia, 440,628 1/1936 Great Britain 74/242.l1 A

h E la M hi works Inc. Primary Examiner-Roy Lake [73] Asslgnee ilz g g g i Assistant Examiner-James F. Coan A tt0rney,A gent, or Firm ZacharyT.Wobensmith,2nd [22] Filed: Sept. 12, 1972 [21] App]. No.: 288,370 [57] ABSTRACT [52] US. Cl 93/80, 93/77 R, 74/242.11 A A pir l tllbc Winding machine is disclosed having an [51] Int. Cl. B3lc 3/00 improved heavy y drive for the drum Cylinders [58] Field of Search 93/80, 77 R; 74/242.l1 A Which hr gh a elt Winds a spiral tube onto a mandrel. The positions of the drum cylinders are adjust- [56] Refer Cit d able to accommodate different sizes of mandrels and UNITED STATES PATENTS tubes and the driving mechanism accommodates itself to such adjustment without the necessity for removing 323: %;;3 and replacing gears in the driving mechanism.

1,941,993 1/1934 Minton 93/80 3,327,596 6/1967 Lee, Jr. et a1 93/80 7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 351,145 6/1931 Great Britain 74/242.11 A

SHEET 3 OF 3 PATENIED FEB 2 6187 4 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to spiral tube winding machines.

2. Description of the Prior Art Spiral tube winding machines are well known in which a plurality of plies of paper or other strip material are continuously wound onto a mandrel to form the tube.

The common practice which utilizes a pair of vertical cylinders to drive a belt is shown in Barnes et al., U.S. Pat. No. 2,888,826, wherein the cylinders are driven by a gear train.

Uniformity of rotation of the tube as it is wound is desired in order that the finished tubes do not have ridges or depressions in them where the edges of the plies meet. The belt which rotates the tube must be kept at the proper tension for the different sizes of mandrels used to wind tubes and different sizes of tubes which tension is maintained by adjustment of the distance between the two drum cylinders over which the belt' is carried. The drum cylinders are usually gear driven and such gears are of short life due to the adjustments for different size mandrels.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the invention a spiral tube winding machine is provided wherein the drive for the drum cylinders is through gears and heavy duty chains which chains are kept at constant or predetermined tension throughout the variable distances between the cylinders necessitated by maintaining the belt tension constant for various sizes of mandrels in order for the tubes to turn smoothly and produce a finished product of high quality. 1

It is the principal object of the invention to provide a spiral tube winding machine wherein the drive for the drums will have a longer period of usefulness than in machines of this type now available.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a spiral tube winding machine wherein the drive for the drums will have a long useful life without sacrifice of adjustability.

Other objects and advantageous features of the invention will be apparent from the description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The nature and characteristic features of the invention will be more readily understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of a portion of a spiral tube winding machine;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the belt carriage of FIG. 1 with parts broken away to show the details of construction;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken approximately on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken approximately on the line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

It should, of course, be understood that the description and drawings herein are illustrative merely and that various modifications and changes can be made in the structure disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the spiral tube winding machine to be described includes a frame having a top wall 11 from which a standard 12 extends upwardly with a bracket (not shown) attached thereto for rigidly supporting a mandrel 15 to which paper p from suitable supply rolls (not shown) is supplied to be wound by rotation of the paper into a spiral wound tube.

The top wall 11 carries an elongated bed 16, of hollow construction with a horizontal bottom wall 17, parallel vertical side walls 18 and 19 and parallel vertical end walls 20 and 21.

The bottom wall 17 is provided with a boss 22 which is supported on a bearing 23 carried in the top wall 11.

The frame 10 is of rectangular configuration with front and rear walls 25 and 26, and end walls and 31.

The frame 10 has a horizontal wall 32 above the bottom wall 33 and with an electric motor mounted thereon. The motor 40, of conventional type, has a horizontally disposed output shaft 41 with a gear 42 mounted thereon. A gear 43 is engaged with the gear 42 and mounted on an input shaft 45 of a gearbox 46. The gear box 46 has a plate 47 secured thereto which is mounted to a vertical cylinder 28 by bolts 48 which cylinder extends down from the top wall 11. An output shaft from gear box 46 extends vertically upwardly through a hole 49 in the plate 47 and into the interior of bed 16.

The vertical shaft 50 has a lower bearing 51 supporting it which is mounted in the bottom wall 17 ofthe bed 16. A sprocket 52 is carried on the shaft 50 above the wall 17 and has an endless chain 53 engaged with it. The chain 53 is of the multiple row multiple link type and is engaged with an idler sprocket gear 55 mounted on a shaft 56 which is rotatably carried in a bearing 57 mounted to the wall 17 of bed 16.

The chain 53 extends around an idler sprocket gear 58 which is rotatably mounted to a shaft 59 carried in a yoke 60 of a chain tensioner assembly 61. The tensioner assembly 61 which helps to keep the chain 53 under the desired tension includes a piston rod 62 attached to the yoke 60 carried within a hollow tube 65 with a coil spring 66 forcing the rod 62 and yoke 60 outwardly.

The chain tensioner assembly 61 is attached to the front wall 67 of a drum cylinder base assembly 68 which includes a base plate 69 that has side guide elements 70 which extend over the edge of and are slidable along guide rails 71 carried on the top of the side walls 18 and 19. The base plate 69 has a rear wall portion 75 attached thereto which has in threaded engagement, an adjusting screw 76 carried in the end wall 20 of bed 16. The adjusting screw 76 has a handle 77 thereon for rotation of the adjusting screw 76 and thereby for positioning of the base assembly 68 and tensioner assembly 61 along the guide rails 71 in order to keep the chain 53 under tension.

The base assembly 68 has a two piece cover 79 hingedly connected to its rear wall which cover 79 is centrally transversely hinged and also hingedly connected to end wall 20. The cover 79 is movable with base assembly 68 to restrict access to the interior of bed 16.

A sprocket 80 is carried on a shaft 81 rotatably mounted in base assembly 68 and engaged with the chain 53. A drum cylinder 85 is carried on the shaft 81 at the end opposite to sprocket 80 which drum is of generally cylindrical shape, with which a belt 87 is engaged. The belt 87 is engaged with paper strips supplied to the mandrel 15 for rotation of the tube and with a drum cylinder 90 carried on a shaft 91 which is rotatably mounted in a base assembly 92 at the end of the bed opposite to the drum assembly 68. The base assembly 92 is constructed the same as base assembly 68 and includes a base plate 88, and a rear wall 93, having in threaded engagement an adjusting screw 94 carried in end wall 21 with a handle 95 for rotation and positioning of base 92. The base 92 has side guide elements 96 which extend over the guide rails 71 and has a two piece cover 97 hingedly connected to the rear wall 93, and the end wall 21. The base 92 has a front wall 98 and a cover 99 attached thereto extending toward the center of bed 16 slidable along and overlapping rails 71.

It should be noted that the proper positioning of the baseassemblies 68 and 92 along guide rails 71 causes the belt 87 to be tightened and grip the tube 15 for smooth rotation on mandrel 15. A cover 100 is attached to base assembly 68, extends toward the center of bed 16 and is in overlapped telescoped relation to cover 99. I

The shaft 91 has a sprocket 101 at its end opposite to the drum 90 engaged with an endless chain 102 which is rotatably carried by an idler gear 103 secured to a shaft 104 rotatably by a bearing 105 which is mounted to bottom wall 17 of the bed 16.

The base assembly 92 carries a chain tensioner assembly 106 which extends toward the center of bed 16 and includes an outer hollow tube 107 with a coil spring 108 therein engaging a piston rod 109 and forcing it out of tube 107. The rod 109 has a yoke 110 attached thereto with a shaft 111 therein carrying an idler gear 112 which is also engaged with the chain 101. The chain 101 is driven by a sprocket 115 carried by a stub shaft 116 rotatably carried in a bearing 117 mounted to bottom wall 17 of bed 16. A herringbone gear 118 is carried by shaft 116 above the sprocket 115 and engaged with and driven by a herringbone gear 119 secured to the shaft 50 and positioned above the sprocket 52.

A plate 120 is provided extending transversely across bed 16 detachably mounted to side walls 18 and 19 and has the ends of shafts 116 and 50 journaled therein in bearings 130 and 131.

As shown in FIG. 1 the bed 16 can be angularly oriented with respect to the frame 10. A shaft is provided in threaded engagement with an arm 126 pivotedly secured to the bottom wall 17 of bed 16 and mounted to frame 10 by brackets 127. The shaft 125 has a hand wheel 128 for rotation of the shaft to cause the angular position of bed 16 with the frame 10 to vary as desired.

The mode of operation will now be pointed out.

When it is desired to drive the paper for winding of spiral tubes onto the mandrel 15 the motor 40 is activated and gear 42 is caused to rotate. The rotation of gear 42 causes gear 43 to rotate and thereby through gear box 46 rotates shaft 50. Rotation of shaft 50 causes sprocket 52 to rotate and chain 53 to rotate idler sprocket gears 55 and 58, and sprocket 80 to rotate shaft 81 and drum 85. Rotation of drum 85 causes belt 87 to move.

The rotation of shaft 50 through gear 1 19 causes gear 1 18 to rotate shaft 116. The rotation of shaft 116 causes sprocket 115 to drive chain 102 and thereby totate idler gear 103, idler gear 112, sprocket 101 and drum 90 through shaft 91. The rotation of drum 90 in conjunction with the rotation of drum 85 causes belt 87 to wind strips p onto the mandrel to form spiral wound tubes. The belt 87 must be kept tight on the tube being wound since various sizes of mandrels are used to wind different diameters of tubes.

In order to relax the belt 87 and replace the mandrel 15 one or both of the adjusting screws 76 and 94 are rotated to cause the base assemblies 68 and 92 to move towards the center of bed 16. The mandrel 15 is replaced and the belt 87 tightened by adjustment apart of the base assemblies 68 and 92 on bed 16.

The chain tensioner assemblies 61 and 106 also change position as the positions of base assemblies 68 and 92 vary. The movement of the yokes 60 and 110 and gears 58 and 112 act to maintain the correct tension on chains 53 and 102 as the base assemblies 68 and 92 are moved towards and away from the center of bed 16, with maintenance of proper gripping adjustment of the belt 87 on the mandrel 15.

It will thus be seen that apparatus has been provided with which the objects of the invention are attained.

1 claim: I

1. A spiral tube winding machine which comprises a frame,

an elongated bed pivotally mounted on said frame,

means for supplying strips of paper for tube winding,

a mandrel carried by said frame for winding of said strips of material thereon to form tubes,

a belt in driving engagement with said paper,

a pair of drums extending upwardly from said bed in driving engagement with said belt and each having a driving member disposed in said bed,

means for mounting-said drums for movement along said bed toward and away from each other for adjusting the tension of said belt to accommodate different sizes of mandrels, and

means for simultaneously driving said drums comprising, chain drive means including chains connected to each of said driving members, driving members for said chains, and members for maintaining said chains under tension at different spaced positions of said drums,

said driving members for said chains including chain driving sprockets carried on spaced shafts,

said spaced shafts having interengaged driving gears,

and

one of said spaced shafts being connected to a driving motor.

2. A spiral tube winding machine as defined in claim 1 in which 6 said driving motor is carried in said frame and has a means for mounting said drums.

horizontal output shaft, and 6. A spiral tube winding machine as defined in claim transmission means is provided connecting said out- 1 i hi h P Shaft to 5a1d one of Said Spaced said means for mounting said drums include drum 3. A spiral tube winding machine as defined in claim 5 supports Slidably mounted on Said 1 m much 7. A spiral tube winding machine as defined in claim members are provided for positioning said pivotally 5 in which mounted bed to accommodate dlfferem sizes of said members for maintaining said chains under tenmandrels' sion include 4. A spiral tube winding machine as defined in claim 10 1 in which an outer housing carried by said means for mountsaid members for maintaining said chains under tenmg sald drums sion include chain tensioning elements having resila Spring h said housmg and iently urged members maintaining said tension. a movable Plston urged outwardly y 531d Spring,

5. A spiral tube winding machine as defined in claim Said Piston y g a Sprocket in tension pplying '6- 4 in which lation to said chain.

said chain tensioning elements are mounted on said 

1. A spiral tube winding machine which comprises a frame, an elongated bed pivotally mounted on said frame, means for supplying strips of paper for tube winding, a mandrel carried by said frame for winding of said strips of material thereon to form tubes, a belt in driving engagement with said paper, a pair of drums extending upwardly from said bed in driving engagement with said belt and each having a driving member disposed in said bed, means for mounting said drums for movement along said bed toward and away from each other for adjusting the tension of said belt to accommodate different sizes of mandrels, and means for simultaneously driving said drums comprising, chain drive means including chains connected to each of said driving members, driving members for said chains, and members for maintaining said chains under tension at different spaced positions of said drums, said driving members for said chains including chain driving sprockets carried on spaced shafts, said spaced shafts having interengaged driving gears, and one of said spaced shafts being connected to a driving motor.
 2. A spiral tube winding machine as defined in claim 1 in which said driving motor is carried in said frame and has a horizontal output shaft, and transmission means is provided connecting said output shaft to said one of said spaced shafts.
 3. A spiral tube winding machine as defined in claim 1 in which members are provided for positioning said pivotally mounted bed to accommodate different sizes of mandrels.
 4. A spiral tube winding machine as defined in claim 1 in which said members for maintaining said chains under tension include chain tensioning elements having resiliently urged members maintaining said tension.
 5. A spiral tube winding machine as defined in claim 4 in which said chain tensioning elements are mounted on said means for mounting said drums.
 6. A spiral tube winding machine as defined in claim 1 in which said means for mounting said drums include drum supports slidably mounted on said bed.
 7. A spiral tube winding machine as defined in claim 5 in which said members for maintaining said chains under tension include an outer housing carried by said means for mounting said drums, a spring within said housing, and a movable piston urged outwardly by said spring, said piston carrying a sprocket in tension applying relation to said chain. 